Albert Brown Porter (1864 - 1909)
Education
- 1884
- B.S., Physics, Purdue University
Positions
- 1894 - 1903
- Professor of Physics, Armour Institute of Technology
- 1894 - 1903
- Chair of Physics Department, Armour Institute of Technology
Biography
Albert Porter began his studies at Stevens Institute in 1897 at the age of
15. He completed his B.S. in physics at Purdue University in 1884 and then
taught for seven years at Richmond High School before beginning graduate
studies at Johns Hopkins University. In 1884, he became Professor of
Physics and Department Chair at Armour Institute of Technology where he
remained for 9 years.
In 1903, Porter resigned from Armour Institute of Technology to establish
"The Scientific Shop", a commercial enterprise for manufacture of precision
physical intruments, in particular optics. [1]
Porter died suddenly at the age of 45, leaving few published works but many
journals filled with short "notes" which show his command of optics and
inventive mind. One of his last notes concerned the design and manufacture
of a multifocal lens to replace the bifocal lens. This kind of lens is now
commonly used in eyeglasses. [1]
Porter's father, Albert G. Porter, was Governor of Indiana in the 1880's.
Publications
-
"Transmisson of Pressure in Fluids", A.B. Porter, Scientific American
Supplement 711, 11362 (1889).
-
"Doppler's Principle and Light-Beats", A.B. Porter, Science 21,
314 (1905).
-
"On the Nature of Optical Images", A.B. Porter, Phys. Rev. (Series
I) 24, 303 (1907).
References
- [1] "Albert B. Porter", Henry Crew, Science 29, 962
(1909).